May 2011

May 30, 2011

This block is called Square in a Square. I like the pink and blue combinations.

Initially, I thought making a lot of small blocks (4") of different designs would be quite fiddly but to my surprise I've found it to be very quick and quite addictive.

I think the fact that I'm sticking to Kathleen's colour scheme makes it much simpler. I'm also only using fabric that is already on my work table (for Dad's quilt) which makes fabric selection much easier.

The other two blocks I've finished are Chequerboard (on left) and Flying Geese. So far, the Flying Geese block is my favourite.

As you can see from the colours I've been using so far, that the quilt is blue, brown and pink. Very reproductionish.

Downton Abbey....

Last night on Channel 7 I watched a new show called Downton Abbey. I really enjoyed it. The first episode laid the foundation for some interesting plot developments so hopefully it will live up to that and will stay enjoyable to watch. Sometimes I watch a show for the first time and like it and am then disappointed ever after! Will have to wait and see.

May 28, 2011

Yesterday I mentioned to Caroline that I was reading The Dressmaker by Rosalie Ham and she asked me if I was enjoying it. I hesitated for a moment and replied "I'm not sure."

It's the story of Tilly who returns to a small country town to care for her mother Molly. From the start there's a hint of a dark secret by the way she is treated by the town's residents. But, it turns out that Tilly is a talented dressmaker and she ends up making beautiful creations for the women in the town. They in turn still treat Tilly and Molly badly. As the novel progresses you are given insight into Tilly's past and why she has been absent for so long.

The town's people are really the main characters in the story and their nastiness seems to intensify as the novel progresses until I found myself hoping that Tilly would get revenge on them somehow.

As things start to unravel for them (not always Tilly's doing) I found myself laughing out loud. Some of the scenes were so funny like when Trudy went crazy while trying to direct the residents in a version of Macbeth. In the end Tilly was able to slip away with her past put to rest.

If someone asked me to day if I enjoyed the novel, I wouldn't hesitate - "Yes".

May 27, 2011

To be honest, patience has never been one of my strong points. My dictionary describes patience as 'the ability to accept delay, trouble or suffering without becoming upset.' Max Lucado says it's being 'slow to boil'. But me - I'm the opposite - I'm quick to ignite! I tend to react immediately to things without giving a lot of thought to what I'm saying or doing. As a result, I often regret my words and actions especially because it usually means that I hurt someone else unnecessarily. That's not loving them.

Fortunately God doesn't treat me that way or he would have wiped me out long ago. Instead, he shows me amazing patience and wants me to treat other people the same way.

Being patient doesn't mean you ignore misbehaviour, it just means you wait and listen before taking action.

So with that in mind, I stitched a garden seat to remind me to stop, listen and gain understanding before doing something. This will save me and everyone around me a lot of heartache!

Library....

I love libraries. When we lived in Canberra I used to frequent my local library regularly. But unfortunately when we moved to paradise, our 'local' library was a couple of suburbs away. Well, not any more. A new library was built nearby and opened a couple of months ago. I kept meaning to visit but always seemed too busy. Well, today as I was leaving the post office (which is next door) I decided to go and check it out. I'm glad I did. It has a great selection of craft books and magazines. I managed to borrow the latest Vogue Knitting magazine. I'm sorry I didn't make time to visit sooner.

May 25, 2011

I read this book by Max Lucado a couple of months ago but found myself thinking about it ever since.

I've always struggled with the concept of 'love' and at times found it hard to accept that God actually loves me just the way I am. I know in my head that he does - the Bible says so and he demonstrated it so powerfully through the gift of his son - but at times my own feelings of unworthiness get in the way.

In his very down to earth and honest style, Max Lucado tackles the issue of love by examining the well-known verses in 1 Corinthians 13.

In the first chapter he explains that love as outlined in 1 Cor 13 is the love that God has for us and it's this love that we are to show other people. The problem is that it's difficult to give what you don't have. If we allow God's love to fill our lives, we will have 'a love worth giving' to others. Max breaks down each element of love and gives examples from his own life to illustrate their meaning. As usual for his books, I found his explanations clear and relevant. For me it was like a lighbulb going on in my brain as I received some clarity on each element.

The book has had such a profound influence on my life that I decided it needed a response. I'm working on a stitchery quilt called Love Is... I've almost finished the first stitchery so hopefully will have something to show you next time.

State of Origin...

Well it's that time of year again when Queensland plays New South Wales in the State of Origin (Rugby League). I love it! I love the atmosphere and excitement surrounding the event. Queensland as a state has had a terrible time this year with floods and cyclones - even the stadium where the game will be played tonight was flooded - we are all looking forward to something to cheer about. Queenslanders are proud to be from the state that is 'beautiful one day, perfect the next'. Win, lose or draw we will be cheering - 'Queenslander, Queenslander'.

May 23, 2011

I forgot to show you my latest fabric club instalment from Threadbear Quilters.

As usual they are all just beautiful but I fell in love with the lovely blue in the front of the photo. I'm a little short on blues at the moment, so was really pleased when I saw this one. Will definitely be able to find a place for that in my latest project.

I also like the one directly above it - it's reddy/brown/orange - very handy in a scrappy quilt.

Under the blue is a large floral print with black, green and pink. Another handy fabric.

I really look forward to receiving my fabric club pieces and when I'm starting a project, I always reach for them first.

Sampler Quilt...

Speaking of new projects, I was feeling very inspired after my last dolly quilt and decided to start another one immediately. This time I chose Schoolgirl's Sampler Quilt from Kathleen Tracy's book Prairie Children and Their Quilts. I still have the reproduction fabric all strewn over my workbench for Dad's quilt and like the last dolly quilt, my plan is to cut out bits and pieces as I work on his quilt.

The quilt is made up of 12 x 4" blocks.

The first block is Crosses and Losses.

To make it easier for myself, I'm just going to follow Kathleen's colour scheme. For example, in her instructions for this block, she says to use a pink fabric, a brown fabric and a shirting fabric. As you can see I followed that exactly.

The block was quick to make and I've already cut out the next one.

This time when I finish, it will be hand quilted.

Spooks ...

Well, yet another season of Spooks is over. Poor old Lucas. Not a very good end for him was it? It was disappointing about the way he turned out and it reminded me of Connie when she turned out to be a traitor as well. Wonder if this is the end for Harry? It wouldn't seem the same without Harry at the helm. Probably have to wait 12months to find out. (I was glad it finished on Saturday because we will be out for the next 2 Saturday nights!)

May 20, 2011

I pieced together the Scrap Squares Dolly Quilt and then sandwiched it all up for quilting.

It sat draped over my my sewing machine for a couple of days waiting for some attention. I usually quilt all my dolly quilts by hand but for some reason I made the decision (make that bad decision) to quilt it by machine.

Blame it on pressures of time or just feeling a bit like I wanted to get it finished - I don't know what it was. Anyway, I started machine quilting it and half way through I regretted it and wished I had taken the time to hand quilt. I then made the second bad decision. I thought "I'm committed now - may as well finish it." So that's what I did.

Don't get me wrong. There's nothing wrong with machine quilting and the quilting actually looks good. The problem is I realised that for me, part of the enjoyment of making these dolly quilts is the hand quilting.

They aren't big projects. The hand quilting really doesn't take long and I think it adds to the attractivenss of the quilts.

1. Don't change from my original plan when making these quilts. (only use fabric I have at home and always hand quilt)

2. When I realised my mistake, I should have unpicked it and started again. I would have been much happier with the finished project.

Brookfield Show....

In my part of paradise until Sunday evening, the local show is in full swing. The Brookfield Show is a highlight of our local community and has been held annually for the last 50 years. This year I am one of the Quilting Stewards - we organise the quilt competition as part of the Needlework Exhibits. This year we added a new category - Youth Quilts. We had 4 young quilters who entered a total of 8 quilts between them. The girls are aged between 11 and 14 and the standard of their work is amazing. I asked each one of them who taught them how to quilt and the answer - "My grandmother." What a great heritage!

May 18, 2011

Yesterday the postie brought my copy of Anni Downs new book Some Kind of Wonderful.

I've always been a fan of Anni's designs and have all of her other books. I saw this one on her blog so couldn't wait to see it in person.

It features a couple of quilts, bags, pillows and a table runner. Included are applique designs, wool applique, stitchery and punch needle.

The main quilt is called My Favourite Things and features both applique and stitchery. It looks like a really achievable quilt constructed in vertical rows. The only problem I have is I think the photo is too light and it's difficult to see all the beautiful designs. But, fortunately. there is a photo of each one on a separate page which gives a good guide.

One of the things I always liked about Anni's designs is the choice of fabric. We seem to like the same things. Her choices in this bok meet my approval! (I bet she's glad.)

Thumbs up for this one!

Dad's Quilt...

I've been making a bit of progress on Dad's quilt. I have chosen all the photos now and have sewn borders around half of them. I'm glad I decided in the beginning what I was trying to achieve with this quilt because it made choosing photos much easier. Mum kept giving me photos and as nice as they were, not all of them fitted my criteria. She couldn't understand why I didn't want photos of my Aunts (her sisters) in the quilt. I had to explain that it was about My Dad not about the whole family!

May 16, 2011

I was doing some stitchery and ran out of the colour I was using so thought I would duck down to the patchwork shop for some more. I resolved that I wouldn't look at any fabric but march straight in and buy the thread and then walk straight out. But my good intentions proved to be no match for a pile of fabrics I saw sitting on the counter.

I couldn't resist the spottiness. Before I knew what was happening I was handing over my credit card. So much for just buying thread. When I thought about it later, it was kind of stupid going into my favourite patchwork shop to buy thread and thinking I could just ignore all those beauitful fabrics. I was setting myself up for failure.

But, I'm really pleased with the spots and do not regret buying them one bit. Not sure what I will make with them but I know it will be good.

The King's Speech....

Had a terrible day last week. All morning I felt like I was swimming upstream against a strong current. By lunch time I felt overwhelmed and just wanted to shut myself inside for a while. I think it qualified as one of those 'doona days' described so well in the Tucked In book. But, instead of heading for bed I headed to the DVD shop and hired the movie The Kings Speech. I missed this one at the movies and was pleased to see it sitting on the shelf. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Geoffrey Rush (Aussie, Aussie, Aussie) and Colin Firth (forever Mr D'arcy) are brilliant. The story was engrossing and the fact that I could recognise some historical events just added to the enjoyment. Watching it gave me the oomph I needed.

May 14, 2011

I put the finishing touches to my Peasy cardigan the other day and after blocking it looks beautiful (that's my biased opinion anyway).

The yarn - Rowan Felted Tweed DK - is so soft to touch. It's a light DK so I think it will be perfect for a paradise winter.

I've become a real fan of blocking. Before blocking this cardigan, the garter stitch borders were rolling up but now they are sitting nice and flat.

I was in a shop at the coast a couple of weeks ago and they were selling hand knit garments. I could tell immediately that they weren't blocked. Blocking seems to get out all the lumps and bumps and makes the garment 'sit' better.

It's definitely worth the effort.

Irish Coffee...

After finishing the Peasy cardigan, I was at a bit of a loose end as far as knitting goes. I was in the strange position of having no knitting on the go and I really missed it.

This month at Tangled Yarns, Kelly is having a cables kal. In last week's newsletter she had a list of different designs to give some inspiration and I spied this short sleeve tunic called Irish Coffee (it's available on Ravelry). I looked at it for a couple of days and thought it would be suitable for me. All week I've been thinking about it and last night watching the footy, I was so frustrated at not having any knitting I decided I just had to buy some yarn.

I dropped into the store today and picked up some Cascade 220 Heathers in a brownish colour to make Irish Coffee. It's not the yarn specified in the pattern but I'm confident that it will be okay.

Tonight while watching Spooks I will knit the tension square and hopefully at least cast on.

Spooks...

Speaking of Spooks, I'm really enjoying this season. Initially, I was a bit shocked at Lucas' betrayal (he always seemed such a loyal sort of bloke) but am now enjoying the intrigue that goes with that. Will be interesting to see how it plays out.

May 12, 2011

The other day I suddenly had an urge to make a dolly quilt. I haven't made one for ages. I have lots of reproduction fabrics laid out on my work bench at the moment while I'm working on Dad's quilt so I thought that a dolly quilt would be something I could do at the same time as Dad's quilt.

I turned to one of Kathleen Tracy's books for inspiration and chose the Scrap Squares Doll Quilt in The Civil War Sewing Circle.

The quilt is made up with 4 " squares surrounded by 1 1/2" sashing. I had no trouble finding some fabric for the squares but choosing the shirting for the sashing was a bit trickier.

The quilt in the book, has a lovely cream based shirting which gave the quilt an aged look. I only had some white based shirting so wasn't sure if I would like the look. But, the rule (Lyn's rule) of making these quilts is that I have to use fabric I have on hand. With that in mind, I chose a white shirting with a blue design.

The cutting out was really quick and I did the sewing in between working on Dad's quilt.

It all came together fairly quickly because it's sewn in rows. The large blocks are joined with some sashing into rows and the corner pieces are also joined with sashing into rows.

Now I just have to join the rows together and my quilt top will be complete.

The shirting fabric turned out to be okay in the end although it doesn't give the same 'look' as the one in the book. But, that's not a bad thing - it's good to be different.

Change of direction....

I've made the decision to change my online business. I will no longer be selling other people's patterns on my website but will only sell my original patterns. My blog will stay the same - it's just my website business that's changing. As a result I'm having a huge clearance sale on my website. Everything on the site is 50% off including sales items. (The price will be adjusted when I process your order and postage will be added then as well.) There are still lots of things left but be quick. Once they're gone - they're gone.

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In 2012 we did the quilt called I am... based on the I am statements Jesus made in the book of John. If you would like more information please email me.